10 People Die from Hepatitis in Northern Rural Homs as Assad Regime Blocks Entry of Medicine

Ten 10 people have so far died from hepatitis A and B disease in the Houla area of northern rural Homs, said communications officer in the rebel-held area Abdulbari Abu Mustafa. He also said that there are 75 hepatitis patients in the Houla area and the nearby town of Zafarana.

Towns and villages in northern rural Homs have been subjected to tightened years-long siege by regime forces and their allied foreign militias who prevent the entry of UN aid convoys to the area.

In a videoconference between members of the Syrian opposition’s Negotiations Committee and leaders in northern rural Homs on Thursday, Abu Mustafa attributed the spread of the disease to the severe shortages of food and medical supplies as well as the use of contaminated water in the irrigation of land.

Member of the Negotiations Committee Yasser Abdel Rahim said that the Committee’s delegation to Geneva talks would discuss this issue with the UN team on Thursday. He noted that regime continues to commit war crimes that are punishable by international law.

Abdel Rahim stressed that the Committee's delegation will continue with the participation in Geneva negotiations. He added that they would insist on reaching a political solution by demanding the implementation of international resolutions, most notably the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Security Council resolutions 2118 and 2254. He pointed out that achieving political transition is the only feasible way to put an end to the suffering of the Syrian people.

Member of the Committee’s advisory board Riyad Al-Hassan gave a detailed overview of the developments of the political process in Geneva. He called upon the international community to ramp up pressure the Assad regime to implement humanitarian provisions of UN Security Council resolution 2254. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)